National

President Ruto opens new passport office in Bungoma

President William Ruto and sixteen-year-old Blessy Okwisa during the opening of new Bungoma passport office. (X/William Ruto)

By Mary Wambui | Friday, May 31, 2024

During his three-day visit to the county, which will host this year's Madaraka Day celebrations on Saturday, President Ruto issued the first batch of passports processed at the new office.

Sixteen-year-old Blessy Okwisa, a Form Two student and hockey player, can now pursue her dream of playing for the national team after receiving her passport at the new Bungoma passports office, launched by President William Ruto on Friday.

The passport will enable her to participate in international competitions.

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Ms Okwisa is the first beneficiary of the new office, which aims to serve the approximately six million residents of Bungoma, Kakamega, Vihiga, and Trans Nzoia counties in the greater Western Kenya region.

President Ruto stated that the Immigration office is dedicated to issuing passports and other travel documents.

"Besides issuing passports, the new office will also provide services such as work permits, residency applications, Electronic Travel Authorisation, Temporary Permits, Interstate Pass, Refugee Travel Documents, and Certificates of Identity and Nationality through a dedicated eCitizen desk," he said.

The office is strategically located in Bungoma town, just 35 kilometres from the Kenya-Uganda border town of Malaba and other nearby international crossing points. The immigration department noted a surge in visitors from the East African region to the town in recent years.

We are devolving immigration services such as the issuance of passports and work permits to ensure that Kenyans do not incur unnecessary costs to acquire essential documents.

In Bungoma Town, commissioned the Bungoma Immigration Office that will also serve Vihiga, Kakamega,… pic.twitter.com/jna7CVqwL7
— William Samoei Ruto, PhD (@WilliamsRuto) May 31, 2024

During his three-day visit to the county, which will host this year's Madaraka Day celebrations on Saturday, President Ruto issued the first batch of passports processed at the new office.

"We appreciate the opening of this office as we can now easily apply for and collect passports without spending a lot of time and money travelling to Kisumu or Eldoret," said Brian Simiyu, an IT graduate hoping to pursue job opportunities in Dubai.

Immigration and Citizen Services PS Julius Bitok said the Bungoma office will serve around 500 clients daily, easing pressure on the Eldoret and Kisumu offices. He added that more regional immigration offices are planned across the country to make passport services cheaper and faster.

"We have a vision to make acquiring passports an affordable and fast service. With the opening of more offices and other reforms we are undertaking, we believe issuing passports within three days should be possible," Bitok said.

He urged Western Kenya residents, many of whom engage in cross-border movements, to take advantage of the new office to regularise their travel papers and residency status. He acknowledged that many border community members in the region held registration papers from neighbouring countries due to social-cultural and economic ties without formally applying for dual citizenship.

The government has also relaxed the vetting process for communities living along the border to facilitate the acquisition of National ID Cards.

Broadcasting PS Edward Kisangani encouraged Bungoma residents to fully exploit the eCitizen platform, which offers access to over 16,000 government services online.